The Latest: Court hears bid to resume work on oil pipeline

Mar. 13, 2018

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Latest on a legal fight over construction of a crude oil pipeline in a Louisiana swamp (all times local):

Noon

A federal appeals court is weighing whether to lift an order that has halted construction of a crude oil pipeline through an environmentally fragile swamp in Louisiana.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn't immediately rule Tuesday after hearing arguments from lawyers for Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC and environmental groups opposed to the project.

On Feb. 23, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick issued a preliminary injunction that suspended the work in the basin until the groups' lawsuit is resolved. She concluded the project's irreversible environmental damage to the Atchafalaya Basin outweighs the economic harm that a delay brings to the company.

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8:45 a.m.

A company building a crude oil pipeline in Louisiana is asking a federal appeals court for an order that would allow it to resume construction work in an environmentally fragile swamp.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC's request. The company is seeking an "emergency stay" that would lift a court-ordered halt in pipeline construction in the Atchafalaya Basin.

On Feb. 23, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick sided with environmental groups and issued a preliminary injunction that suspended the work in the basin until the groups' lawsuit is resolved.

In court filings, company attorneys claim Dick's ruling "fails the basic requirements" for issuing such an order.